Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Cousin Oppa
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Lee Jae-hyun carefully followed behind Song A-ram, the daughter of the gukbap restaurant owner.
Anyone seeing them might misunderstand the situation, but Lee Jae-hyun was dead serious.
Serhen was with him, wearing a more serious expression than he'd ever seen on her before.
She looked pretty pissed off.
It was the first time Lee Jae-hyun had seen Serhen like this, so he was a bit surprised, but right now wasn't the time to worry about her face.
How far had they followed Song A-ram?
They came to a tiny playground so hidden away that you had to be deliberately looking for it to even notice it.
Song A-ram stopped there.
"Oh, A-ram, you came?"
A female student waved her hand, greeting Song A-ram.
She was openly wearing her school uniform, making it obvious she was a student.
It looked just like the uniform Song A-ram had been wearing earlier, so she was probably from the same school.
Next to that girl were another girl in the same uniform and two boys...
'No one would say they look like good kids.'
Lee Jae-hyun frowned as he watched them casually smoking cigarettes like it was nothing.
Sure, there might be adults who don't care much if minors smoke or drink.
But Lee Jae-hyun was a cop.
To be honest, he had become a cop just to make a decent living.
In his previous life, he probably would've felt a twinge of discomfort at minors smoking or drinking but wouldn't have made a fuss about it.
It happened all the time, and he couldn't fix it single-handedly, so he'd have let it slide.
But not now.
Hadn't he decided to live like a real cop?
Of course he had.
Regardless of whether these kids were bullying Song A-ram or were actually her friends.
Just that behavior alone was enough for Lee Jae-hyun to dislike them.
And then Song A-ram's actions made the crease between his brows deepen even more.
"There, we're good? I'm heading out."
Song A-ram pulled out the 50,000-won bill she'd just gotten from the shop and handed it to the girl who'd greeted her.
Seeing that, Lee Jae-hyun quietly started moving toward the group.
They hadn't noticed him yet and were still focused solely on Song A-ram.
"Come on, A-ram. Why you gotta be like that? Don't leave us hanging."
"......"
"You are gonna buy us smokes, right?"
The girl smiled widely as she asked.
Lee Jae-hyun couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up.
"You can't smoke here. You look like high schoolers..."
"Hey, mister? I don't know who you are barging in like this, but we're adults."
Song A-ram startled and looked at him when he appeared.
The girl who'd just taken the 50,000 won from Song A-ram and ordered her to buy smokes let out an annoyed sigh.
Then, naturally, one of the boys next to her stepped forward to block Lee Jae-hyun.
Even in his uniform, the guy boldly claimed to be an adult, and Lee Jae-hyun let out a snort of laughter.
"Then show me your ID."
Lee Jae-hyun casually demanded it, and the boy clicked his tongue, lightly shoving Lee Jae-hyun's shoulder.
"ID my ass. Who the hell are you?"
The boy spoke in a rough voice.
Lee Jae-hyun met the boy's glaring eyes for a moment before turning to look at Song A-ram.
She stared back at him with a puzzled expression, like she couldn't make sense of the situation.
It made sense—she'd be dumbfounded seeing the guy from the shop suddenly show up here.
Lee Jae-hyun shrugged and opened his mouth.
"I'm A-ram's cousin brother."
Song A-ram's face twisted in disbelief at his words, but she didn't deny it right away.
"Brother? You look like an old dude."
"......"
The girl tossed out the words like they were ridiculous.
It might hurt some people's feelings, but Lee Jae-hyun didn't react at all.
Instead, he checked her name tag so he wouldn't forget the name of the girl who'd said it.
Park Hyun-jin.
Her name somehow just screamed school bully.
She let out a nasal hum, stared at Lee Jae-hyun for a bit, then spoke.
"So you're her cousin brother."
Park Hyun-jin—whether her gestures naturally oozed charm or she was putting on an act—stepped closer to Lee Jae-hyun with a nasal tone.
Song A-ram, who was standing next to Lee Jae-hyun, flinched and took half a step back.
From her reaction, Lee Jae-hyun could easily tell that Park Hyun-jin was the ringleader of the bullying against Song A-ram.
"What, you've got a hot cousin brother like this and never bragged to us? A-ram, that's cold."
Park Hyun-jin said that and reached out to pat Song A-ram's shoulder.
Song A-ram froze stiff, unable to react.
Park Hyun-jin let out a chuckle at Song A-ram's expression, then turned her gaze to Lee Jae-hyun.
"Um, A-ram's cousin brother."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Listen... Could I ask a favor? We're not technically adults yet, but we will be next year? It's just a few months away, so it feels kinda unfair not being able to buy smokes over that tiny gap, you know?"
As she spoke, Park Hyun-jin held out the 50,000-won bill she'd just gotten from A-ram toward Lee Jae-hyun.
Lee Jae-hyun looked down at it and smirked faintly.
He'd been planning to give them some leeway since they were minors... but seeing them push like this, he didn't feel like playing nice anymore.
From the start, being polite to criminals... wasn't something the "Mad Dog" would do.
"Oh, so... you want me to buy you smokes?"
Was it because Lee Jae-hyun's vibe suddenly shifted?
Park Hyun-jin's brow furrowed.
But one of the other friends beside her didn't pick up on it and perked up excitedly.
"Whoa, this brother's got the right idea. We're total besties with A-ram, you know? We'll get along great from now on. So, you can help us out, right?"
"Oh dear. Guess I didn't make myself clear earlier."
Lee Jae-hyun said that as he checked the name tags of her friends too.
Oh Yeon-seo, Kim Sun-woo, Park Han-sol.
Now that he had all their names, Lee Jae-hyun pulled out his own ID from his pocket.
"Huh?"
"I'm a cop, you see."
He held out the ID he'd pulled out toward them.
Their expressions changed in an instant, and Lee Jae-hyun continued calmly.
"So, shall we all head to the station?"
"W-what for? Even if we're minors, smoking isn't illegal, you know?"
Oh Yeon-seo stammered, clearly flustered.
It was a bit absurd, but she was right.
There wasn't a specific law banning minors from smoking.
So it wasn't technically a crime.
That's why there were so many victims who felt cheated.
Selling to minors was illegal, but the buyers faced no punishment, so they boldly tricked people into buying for them.
But Lee Jae-hyun didn't lose his relaxed expression at Oh Yeon-seo's words.
Of course not.
Smoking as a minor wasn't enough to arrest them, but there were plenty of other reasons.
"Want me to list them off one by one?"
"Go ahead."
At Lee Jae-hyun's words, the boy Kim Sun-woo snapped back sharply.
Lee Jae-hyun smiled lightly and continued steadily.
"First off, smoking in a no-smoking area? That's a 100,000-won fine each. See that over there?"
He pointed to the no-smoking sticker, and Kim Sun-woo's face crumpled—the one who'd just been snippy.
"Th-that's just 100,000 won, isn't it?"
Oh Yeon-seo jumped in, but.
Lee Jae-hyun shrugged and kept going.
"Not done yet. Next... extortion."
"That was just borrowing money, not extortion..."
"You can explain that at the station. We've got a witness here, so try saying that there too—it'll be false statements. Plus, you just tried to bribe a cop using my supposed relation to A-ram and our 'friendship.'"
"No, when did we—"
"Bribing a cop to run a smoke errand? Attempting it alone is enough for an on-the-spot arrest."
Honestly, the chances of their words and actions being ruled as bribery were slim to none.
But still, it was something he could make an issue of.
"This guy's hilarious."
Park Han-sol, who'd been quiet, couldn't stay silent at the bribery accusation and spoke up in disbelief, but Lee Jae-hyun didn't stop.
"And the big one: school violence."
As soon as he spat out "school violence" firmly, Oh Yeon-seo jumped like she'd been shocked, waving her hands.
"No, mister! What school violence? Got any proof?"
Oh Yeon-seo was trying to argue, but Park Hyun-jin, already reading the room, cut her off and spoke.
"It wasn't school violence—just friends helping each other out. Looks like there was a misunderstanding?"
"......"
"So, we can apologize for whatever rubbed you the wrong way, right? Sorry, A-ram. Shouldn't have asked to borrow money, and I'll work on my habit of playfully hitting people when I laugh. That good?"
Pretty slick.
Park Hyun-jin's apology neatly covered her bases, and Lee Jae-hyun could see she was sharper than she looked.
But whatever—it didn't matter to him.
Smart or not, she'd face judgment under the law.
School violence didn't always carry heavy penalties yet, but with bruises on the victim's body and what looked like long-term abuse, this case could mean serious punishment.
Sure, it might not fully match what Song A-ram had suffered...
'But at least it could be some comfort.'
Lee Jae-hyun thought to himself and spoke.
"Alright, apology accepted for now. Whether A-ram accepts it is up to her. Now I've got work to do. Smoking in a no-smoking zone: 100,000-won fines each. Bribery... that's a serious crime."
"This guy's nuts."
Oh Yeon-seo finally snapped at Lee Jae-hyun pushing the bribery angle.
Lee Jae-hyun looked straight at her.
"Insulting an officer? Add on insult to a public official. That's a 1-million-won fine, kid."
With years of detective experience, handling a few high schoolers was child's play.
Lee Jae-hyun smoothly countered Oh Yeon-seo, and the students folded first.
"What a pain in the ass... Let's go."
Oh Yeon-seo rubbed her arms like she had goosebumps and muttered.
Park Hyun-jin let out a hollow laugh—whether amused or baffled—and turned away.
"Yeah, see ya. I'll come collect the fines at your school tomorrow myself."
Lee Jae-hyun called after them as they left.
Situation over.
Now for the talk with Song A-ram.
For Lee Jae-hyun, that was more important—and harder—than dealing with those delinquents.
He couldn't help but feel tense.
He looked at Song A-ram, who was staring at him with a somewhat dazed expression.
Lee Jae-hyun cleared his throat and carefully spoke.
"Um... How about we grab some ice cream and talk?"
He forced a smile as he asked.
Song A-ram blinked at him.